In just ten years, the Illinois General Assembly pushed the burden of
billions in government spending onto Illinois’ future generations.
Official estimates put Illinois’ unfunded pension liability at $85.6
billion. But that amount does not take into account the $25.8 billion in
pension obligation bond (POB) payments still outstanding, which have a
net present value of approximately $17.2 billion1 (see Graphic 1). Adding the present value of the POB debt to the unfunded pension liability puts the total pension burden at $102.8 billion.

Much of the state lending went to local governments eager to pursue
grand dreams. Unfortunately, a great deal of what they built already
appears downright useless. As the Washington Post reported,
China’s stimulus spending produced “an astonishing frenzy of
building—highways, subways, airports, bridges, high-speed rail lines,
and even new cities constructed, literally, in the middle of nowhere.”
Chinese citizens are staring at new airports in small counties to which
few passengers will fly, new subway lines in small cities that may not
have needed them, and high-speed trains with ticket prices many cannot
afford.
The local governments, meanwhile, are sitting on large piles of debt they cannot afford.

nOpe. I want a free country. More:

On July 23, a high-speed rail accident in southeast China killed 40 and injured about 190 passengers. Officials blamed signal failure, but outraged citizens and journalists (including many from the state media) have demanded investigations. While China has built the world’s largest network of high-speed railway in under seven years, this undertaking has been plagued by corruption and shoddy construction. In February, Liu Zhijun, China’s minister of railways and architect of the country’s $300 billion high-speed rail network, was fired and arrested, accused of taking $152 million in bribes—not to mention keeping 18 mistresses.

About Me

The middle of America. As for me, moderate in everything but politics. As Tom Roeser said, she went to Harvard and turned right. I come from The Chicago School, not the Chicago Way. Tweet street @backyardconserv